Water fowl decoy



Dec. 17, 1957 R. B. LOCHER WATER FOWL DECOY Filed Ju ne '7, 1954INVENTOR. AAMUALD B. AOC/lfl? BY V] 2,316,383 Patented Dec. 17,

2,816,383 WATER FOWL DECOY Ramuald B. Locher, Royal Oak, Mich.

Application June 7, 1954, Serial No. 434,926

4 Claims. (Cl. 43--3) This invention generally relates to floatingdecoys and particularly pertains to an extremely light-weight,shellbodied and keeled decoy having a float such as for duck or otherwater fowl hunting which is particularly suitablefor manufacture fromsynthetic and natural resin film-sheet and foam. I The p im ry. obje tter fowl decoys which .ar e'fsi tion; inexpensive tornanufacture repairwithout,disassemblingthe dev A i-bl it matura i n s t can be ,rnanufacuredche'apelrf r c mad i i-z liaQh 1 hd-.

object -of th e. inventi can I be t risported land gardlessofhisskillore I objec t of.the. ii 1v e I on, is Ito proyide a decoy which can beadapted to all siies of de I V I ing the war i us .parts witho t 'des, o11 their r'rangn object of .the invention I II I body inade out of axsingle'sheet o f wa t er terIial formedto nesemble .theportiqn" 'f Inormallydisposed above the ace 0 th w floating thereon. I An object'oftheinYent i I p ho s h e e ueshei d o sri en disposed atthe forward endof, th onnect d t the b shell ar u float so as to provide. additional 'barea of the device. t

An object-ofthe inventioni t o p n t e c os d, ,forw d;end{ fft float wh in ps l, ently. supports, the headpoftio which stabilizes ,the. shellbody I I I I I II 1Qbic gthe nven imis q r idsali tant i n V.- p e idipqssd slq t-ths fleet and.. connected thereto so. as to .entrap watertherebetween to stabilize fore and aft motion (lf ;-lh6;d Vl C 6OlhtllQWdlfilTg An object of the invention is to provide a bafflebetween the substantiallyhorizontal.keel tandthe' -float to preventwater fromrfreely running -therebetween to furthe; stabilize the foreand aft motion of the decoy. LAn object of the invention'i's to "providea substan vertical keel hingedly' disposed belo he substantiallyhorizontal keel to stabilizethe device gainst sideto 'debobbingiandrolling motion. II I II An object of the invention" is toflpovide a; uitabl'e weight onthe bottom of the keel to.insur e v that thede'vice will float upwardly in the water. An object of the invention isto provide anchoring means at a point on the substantially verticalkeel. so as to insure that the device rides properly.

An object of the invention is to provide a polystyrene or othersynthetic resin foam-core for the float and a fabric layer thereover andan additional synthetic resin Wa- 1: Disposed below the float 10 isith'eI zontal or -V-shaped keel "13' which is 'attached'tothe float 10-by the.bracketslQ or othersuitablemedium which are cemented 'to the lkeel andthe float. The substantially horizontal :keel 18is spaced below thefloat 10-sothat I water-:is-disposed between the keel and the float;.to.:lend

' stability to therdevicenrelative tozforeaand-aft bobbing;-and/orrollingto eliminate the cork or log-likeaspect of the deviceonathe water and to len d -itlife -like stability;- In' thisaconnectionit is found preferable to dispose.- a crossf ir ter impervious layerover the fabric layer to insure a substantially non-sinkable float ortank. I

An object of the invention is to provide a decoy made substantiallyentirely of synthetic resins so as to insure its permanence, quality,and light weight. These and other objects of the invention will becomeapparent by reference to the following descriptionofa water fowl or duckdecoy embodying the invention taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the devicesuchasin floating condition on the water; I I I I Fig. 2 is a cross-sectionalview of Fig. 1 taken on the line 2-2 thereof; and Fig. 3 is across-sectional view of Fig. 1 taken on the line 3-3 thereof. .5Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals. refer to like andcorresponding parts throughout theiseveral views, the decoy devicedisclosed therein to illustrate the invention comprises a substantiallyv,U-shaped or hor seshoe shaped float or tank; 10, which has'an outerperiphery I conformity substantially similar to ,the:. con-I i9! nilyef. the bodyof awater fowl at thewateraline thereof aaclosed-endportion11 at the front part ofthezfloa't 10,-;2J1d, an I open nd; portionvliZ-at the rear :or. aft end;;of the floakl l, The .outer edge; orperipheryiof.the'floati'lO m'ziybeprovided-with relieved grooves13 soasto; provide scuppers for draining ofl -,;water-, occasionally. disposedabove the. float- Thegbodyld of the device is. preferably made of sheetsynthetic. resin material or film-vandris s w aged z and lancedto theshape-of: the body 'ofthe'fowl to be imitated in that portion ofthefowldisposed above-the water line-when swimming and-.- the lower? edgeportions? thereof are "attached'to the fioat bycementing or byclipsl5,.and,.L shaped bracketsildasseen in the drawingsi'or in any.othersuitable manner. The .neck, post 16. is :dis;-.:

. posed on the forward end 11,:ofthefloat10'and r iseszto the..head 17,which it. independently supports'sin'zrelatibn tothe body 14. so-astorelieve strain. on:.the sheetipo'rtiori ofg th e body- ;and also to.stabilizethe sheet portion the body in the central areaabove-thefloatiOw a .;-;The:.body. l4-has an:openerearw ard endeadjacent the float;.open rearward end 12 which ends coop'erateazt Iface. The open end 12 of the float 10 is defined by the spaced, float:arms-'33.: and .34 leading 'from the closed en d ll.v 1.. Q I It" isjto'he noted that thefloat 10 in"the'-close end area-11 is preferablyenlarged to create more displac spas to jprovide additional buoyancy forthe neckpo I and-the-chead' '17 *at the forward end of the.devicefancbr'e ducedihuoyancy or displacement at 'the open end 12 thereOfzISO :asto provide-less buoyancy'in the substantial lighter aft ortail end ofthe device. substantially baflle 19 above the keel and belowthe float so as to prevent water freely travelling between the keel andthe tank lengthwise of the device to further stabilize fore and aftmotion.

A vertical keel 20 is hi'ngedly connected as by the hinge 21 to thehorizontal keel 18 and this keel lends side-to-side stability to thedevice to prevent unnatural rolling and/or bobbing, and the weight 21 isplaced on the bottom of the vertical keel 2b to insure that when thedevice is thrown out on location and is submerged such as by strongcurrents, that the device will automatically rise to the surface in anupright condition and properly position itself thereon. An eyelet 22 isprovided in the fore part of the vertical keel so that an anchor linecan be attached thereto in the area of the device immediately below itsgreatest buoyancy and/or displacement so that the drag of the anchor,such as in currents, will not bias the device out of balance and causethe fore part of the device to submerge more than the aft portionthereof.

The device as preferably embodied comprises a synthetic foam core 30,such as polystyrene foam, which is then covered wtih a fabric 31, and,the fabric 31 then covered by a water impervious synthetic resin layer32 so that the foam area 30 is never subjected to permeation by theWater. It has also been found desirable to form the head 17 out ofpolystyrene foam in the same manner as the float to provide a lightweight water" resistant head.

The fact that the device can be completely fabricated and manufacturedfrom synthetic resins appears to be a great advantage due to the factthat these resins are impervious to water and are suitable to acceptvarious colors and designs in a permanent manner so that the device doesnot have to be painted every year and is not subject to constant repairdue to destruction by the water.

The hinge 21' is preferably of a snap two-position type so that it holdsthe vertical keel in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 1 and also snapsup against the bottom of the horizontal keel 18 and is held there by thespring action of the leaf 40 against the tab 41.

When the device is subject to gun shot such as in duck hunting, it canbe readily repaired with a small bottle of liquid plastic by merelybrushing the plastic on the body or float to repair the plastic to itsformer condition.

The float 10 has unsinkable and indestructible characteristics in thatgun shot pellets will not cause the foam area 30 to be entirelydestroyed but will only puncture that area which is contracted by thepellet so that when the device is taken out of the water, the foam areacan be dried out and the aperture caused by the pellet sealed up withliquid synthetic resin.

Although but a single embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail, it is obvious that many changes may be made in thesize, shape, detail, and arrangement of the various elements of theinvention within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A floating wild fowl decoy comprising a horse-shoe shaped floathaving an open and a closed end, a body shell fixed to said float withthe closed end of said float positioned at the forward portion and theopen end of said float positioned at the rearward portion of said bodyshell; said body shell having an open rearward end adjacent said floatopen end adapted to cooperate with said float open end to provide achannel to allow water contained in the body shell to exit therefrom;said float closed end being substantially enlarged to provide additionalbuoyancy in the forward end of the decoy so as to cause the forward endof the decoy to initially rise after being submerged to direct waterwithin the body shell rearwardly out of said channel as the decoysurfaces; said float comprising a synthetic resin foam core, a water ii-- pervious fabric laminate sealed over said core, and a waterimpervious coating over said laminate; said float open end being definedby arm portions leading from said closed end, and a substantiallyhorizontal keel fixed to 4 and below said float in the area of said armportions so as to trap a quantity of water between said float and saidkeel to provide a ballast.

2. A floating wild fowl decoy comprising a horseshoe shaped float havingan open end and a closed end, and a body shell fixed to said float withthe closed end of said float positioned at the forward portion and theopen end positioned at the rearward portion of said body shell; saidbody shell having an open rearward end adjacent said float open endadapted to cooperate with said float open end to provide a channel toallow water contained in the body shell to exit therefrom; the forwardportion of said decoy being adapted to rise to the surface of a body ofwater before the rearward portion thereof after being submerged thereinto facilitate drainage of the water entrapped within the body shellthrough said channel, said float comprising a synthetic resin foam core,a water im' ervious fabric laminate sealed over said core, and a waterimpervious coating over said laminate.

3. A floating wild fowl decoycomprising a horseshoe shaped float havingan open end and closed end, a body shell fixed to said float with theclos'eden'd of said float positioned'at the forward portion and the:open end posi-' tioned at the rearward portion of said body" sheil; saidbody shell having an open rearward end adjacent said float open endadapted to cooperate with said float open end to provide a channel toallow water contained in the body shell to exit therefrom; the forwardportion of said decoy being adapted to rise to the surface of a body of'water before the rearward portion thereof after being submerged thereinto facilitate drainage of the water entrapped within the body shellthrough said channel, said" float open end being defined by arm portionsleading from said closed end; and a substantially horizontal keel fixedto and below said float in the area of said arm portions so as to trap aquantity of water between said float and said keel to provide a ballast.

4. A floating wild fowl decoy comprising a horseshoe shaped float havingan open end and a closed end, a body shell fixed to said float with theclosed end of said float positioned at the forward portion and the openend positioned at the rearward portion of said body shell; said bodyshell having an open rearward end adjacent said float open end adaptedto cooperate with said float open end to provide a channel to allowwater contained in the body shell to exit therefrom; the forward portionof said decoy being adapted to rise to the surface of a body of. waterbefore the rearward portion thereof after being submerged therein tofacilitate drainage of the water entrapped within the body shell throughsaid channel, said float open end being defined by arm portions leadingfrom said closed end; a substantially horizontal keel fixed to and belowsaid float in the area of said arm portions so as to trapa quantity ofwater between said float and said keel to provide a ballast, a verticalkeel hingedly connected to said horizontal keel and adapted to extendtherefrom in use, and means for retaining said vertical keel againstsaid horizontal keel for storage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,503,624 Bauman et al. Aug. 5, 1924 1,580,074 Olsson Apr. 6, 19261,712,167 Pontikis May 7, 1929 2,342,107 Agius Feb. 22, 1944 2,435,083Johnson Jan. 27, 1948 2,536,736 Gazalski Ian. 2, 1951 2,546,189 Keep eta1 Mar. 27, 1951

